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Kohl's Cuts Ribbon

ST. MARYS — With coffee in hands, city officials and representatives from the newest retailer to open in the city held a ribbon cutting this morning.

Kohl’s welcomed approximately two dozen people to its grand opening ceremony at 6:45 a.m. this morning. The retailer, which is adjacent to Kroger, opened to a crowd of shoppers Sunday during a soft opening.

“It’s an exciting time for Kohl’s,” store manager Rick Folz said. “This fall, Kohl’s is opening 30 new stores, providing approximately 4,000 new jobs nationwide. At Kohl’s, we live by the motto, ‘expect big things.’”

The 64,000 square foot stop features a handful of innovations that set it apart from other Kohl’s locations in the region. The St. Marys store has electronic signage that can be changed with one key stroke as well as bright lights that keep the store well lit.

“We are proud to be a part of the St. Marys community,” Folz said. “I’d like to thank our community representatives who have joined us here today.”

St. Marys Mayor Greg Freewalt, who cut the ribbon, touted the addition of Kohl’s as another key development for the city. In addition to Kohl’s, Tractor Supply, BW3 and Beer Barrel are all slated to open in the coming months.

“I think it’s another great addition to the city,” Freewalt told The Evening Leader. “Everyone looks for a name like Kohl’s to come and it’s going to be a great drawing card like Kroger and all the other developments out here. With BW3 and JT’s, I think you will see another boom out here. And you are going to have another 150 jobs out here, which is great for the city.”

Freewalt said the addition of Kohl’s and the other businesses should help attract more traffic to the city and make St. Marys a destination for area shoppers and diners.

“It’s always tax dollars that add in,” Freewalt said. “Also, it’s a convenience to our residents that they don’t have to drive out of the city. It’s great that they are in our city so we can do our shopping and our eating. I know years ago, that was the No. 1 interest in people. I think our people are going to be really happy with what is going on here.”

Folz said Kohl’s will have specials all day in honor of its grand opening. The store closes at 10 p.m. today.

“We’ve have great turnout — the customers have come out in droves,” Folz told The Evening Leader. “We are hitting all of our goals and exceeding expectations so the last three days have been great.”

Folz noted shoppers have taken notice of the well-lit facility as well as the floor plan.

“They like that it’s bright and open,” Folz said. “It has a lot of the fashion stuff they like. They thought that they needed it here.”